


but now we're here

by BlueFaeWren



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Conflict Resolution, Fairgame, M/M, Major Character Injury, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, fair game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:13:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25991923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueFaeWren/pseuds/BlueFaeWren
Summary: After that battle, Clover and Qrow talk about their feelings.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	but now we're here

**Author's Note:**

> For context: all the events of V7 are the same, but Salem didn't show up at the end.

After two weeks of sitting in a tiny cell, eating dried-out food, and drinking musty water, the door slides open. The guard seems very nonchalant about the situation - like he deals with a councilwoman and a friends of the head of Atlas every day. In a nondescript voice and nondescript clothes he says, “You can go. We found the killer.”

Qrow has to admit that was not what he was expecting, but refuses to admit how ‘killer’ makes his hands shake. It’s like he can still feel the blood on them, warm and thick and dripping through his fingers, staining the snow. He shudders.

Robyn, on the other hand, doesn’t even wait a second. She stands and marches out of the cell like she’s walking into a political dinner.

Qrow trails behind her, red eyes sweeping nervously around the hall. These cells open directly into the main room; across a wall of wire you can see people singing out their loved ones and reporting crimes. It’s much more a police station than a jail. 

Qrow’s feet skid to a halt. In the center of the room in a wheelchair, hair styled, plain white t-shirt and grey sweatpants is…

“Clover.”

Clover watches Qrow, a soft smile on his face, and nods once, but Qrow doesn’t move. His eyes are wide and fixed, a thousand emotions running across his face and through his mind.

“Is he going to move?” Clover asks Robyn as she passes by.

With a light chuckle and a hand on his shoulder she replies: “Give him a minute.”

Just through the wall of chain you can see Robyn break into a run, embracing a group of women who are waiting for her, laughing freely.

“You’re alive,” Qrow whispers, voice shaking like no tomorrow.

Clover nods again. His hands itch to roll himself closer, to comfort him, but he stays put. Qrow can come to him when he wants to. When he’s ready. 

“But… you… I was there, and there was blood everywhere and you stopped talking and the snow and _there was so much blood and_ -” Qrow takes a breath to steady himself. “ _How_?”

“I lost a lot of blood - my pressure bottomed out and I passed out. But they hooked me up to a blood supply and restarted my heart and surgery-“

“ _Your heart stopped_?” Qrow whispers, horrified.

“Qrow!” Clover finally exclaims. “Come here.”

Qrow throws himself onto his knees next to Clover and clutches the arm wrest of the chair. He’s scared to touch him, his body hovering just shy of touching his. But Clover lays his arm across Qrow’s shoulders and places one hand on top of his mop of greying hair.

“I’m so sorry. I am _so sorry_.”

“Are you sure about that? Because my whole life- _my whole life_ people I care about have died or left me or been betrayed or I’ve dragged them into a mess that they can’t get themselves out of and I thought that-”

“You thought that my luck would balance it out.”

“Lucky charm,” Qrow whispers, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the clover pin, still stained with blood.

Clover takes it from Qrow’s unsure hands and pins it to the pocket of Qrow’s shirt, tender and slow. “I don’t think I’m the one who needs luck.”

“No,” Qrow whispers, back, finally meeting Clover’s eyes.

There’s a sudden commotion from behind them and Qrow turns just in time to see a red blur coming through the door. He’s tackled by it, crushed with their arms. “Hey, kiddo,” he says, hugging Ruby back.

“I’m _so_ glad you’re okay, Uncle Qrow.”

Yang comes in just behind her, carrying a green duffel bag in one hand above her head. “You two ready?”

Qrow stands. “Ready for what?”

“To go home, of course. All of the other ops took up the spare house, so Clover is going to be staying with us!”

Qrow turns a wide eyed gaze to Clover, who wonders aloud, “what happened to my team, by the way? How did you not get arrested?”

There’s a moment of silence, then Ruby mutters, “we may have… beat them up?”

“Yeah, we did!” Yang says, pumping her free fist into the air. “They were all like, _‘we’re the best in Atlas’,_ and Ruby said, _‘you were, and then you trained us’_.”

Clover blinks in surprise, then laughs. _Laughs_. “Where are they now?”

Yang frowns. “After we explained what happened with Ironwood: not just that he wanted to proclaim martial law but also that he was going to abandon Mantle to the Grimm, they snapped out of it. It was such a sudden change in opinion… almost like they had been conditioned to think a certain way. I don’t think that Ironwood disappearing helped either. But they’ve been helping all of us around the city: dealing with excess Grimm, assisting hospitals, evacuating if needed, rebuilding, repaving, all of that. Maria and Pietro have been helping too.”

Clover’s hand has moved to touch the lump of bandages under his torso. “I guess it took getting impaled to snap me out of it.” Qrow crosses to him, placing a light hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay. We’re all here now.”

Clover looks up at him and nods once, then addresses Ruby and Yang. “Who are Maria and Pietro?”

“Maria is the Grimm Reaper, and Pietro built Penny and Yang’s arm. He’s worked with Ironwood a lot before.” Ruby raises her eyebrows. “Qrow is a Grimm Reaper fanboy.”

Clover gasps. “You met the _Grimm Reaper_? Really?”

Yang sighs. “I guess that Clover is also a Grimm Reaper fanboy. Qrow _did_ base his weapon off of her though.”

At the mention of Qrow’s weapon, Clover’s hand returns to his injury. Qrow squeezes his shoulder and starts to push him towards the exit. “Come on, let’s go home.”

The house is a hub of activity, and everyone is happy to see Qrow and Clover doing well. People are scattered about: making dinner, setting the table, chatting in the living room, and reading. As Ruby speeds off to go help Weiss set the table, Yang leads the two of them to their rooms. Qrow gets a chance to shower and change (thank god) and they sit down to dinner.

It consists mostly of people talking about their day - they do so many different kinds of work and see so many people that they end up with great stories. Jaune, using his semblance to help out in hospitals, works incredibly long shifts. He was so sleep deprived once that he tripped and yelled at a brick wall for five minutes until he realised that it was, in fact, a brick wall.

Qrow doesn’t talk much, only turning to help Clover get food when he can’t lift his arms high enough.

After dinner, the ops came over to see Clover. Now that everyone is eighteen, Maria opened a bottle of wine. Qrow, exhausted, escaped to the porch to get away from the smell and sound of alcohol.

“Are you okay?” Clover asks, wheeling himself up to the railing.

Qrow opens his mouth to say something dismissive, like ‘fine’, but eventually settles on: “I don’t know.”

There’s a silence where they both just stare out to the yard. After a moment, Qrow adds: “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.”

Another silence, then Qrow: “If I’m being honest, and I’m trying to be, I was scared when I met you. I was scared that you were a pretty jock boy who flirted with everyone who crossed his path, and you just happened to be the one person in the whole world that was immune to the thing that had hurt me the most in this world.”

“Your semblance.”

Qrow nods. “And I let myself be charmed in the beginning because I knew it wouldn’t hurt me too much to flatter you a little bit, but then…” Qrow sighs, running a hand down his face. “Then you were honest, and nice, and open, and instead of just preventing this all-consuming fear you were making me feel better about myself and making me laugh and feel younger. And I realised, suddenly, that I wasn’t just flattering you I… _cared_ for you. It only hurt more on the mountaintop when I realised that you weren’t just flirting or just flattering or being nice, you…”

Clover takes Qrow’s hand on his. “I care about you too.”

Clover leans back in his chair, a small smile on his face. “The first day I met you I told myself I was being charming because I knew I was going to work with you a lot and wanted you to like me. I also knew that I had a thing for emo boys with a troubled past.”

Qrow snorts, squeezing Clover’s hand.

“I didn’t catch on as quickly as you did, I have to admit, it was only just before the night with Tiergan. I was getting ready to come over for food and games and strategizing when one of the other ops said something, a warning about getting too involved. I was confused, because I was just going over to a friend’s house for fun, like normal people do.” Clover laughs. “And then I thought about the fact that yes, I found you attractive, but also playing cards with you on the bus, and the last time I hung out with you and team RWBY, and how much you cared for them, and how fond you were of them, and the fact that flirting once or twice as a joke with the other leader isn’t too much of a stretch, but making semblance jokes and flirting continuously was.”

Clover looks up and smiles at Qrow, taking in the surprised and flattered look on his face. “When I woke up a couple days ago, once they had confirmed I was stable and everything, they told me they had gotten my killer. And I said, ‘but I thought Tiergan was missing?’ That’s when they realised they messed up. I had to go to the council and testify to say that _no_ , Qrow wasn’t the one who impaled me, it was crazy scorpion dude, _yes_ , I’m sure, _yes_ , I know it was with Qrow’s blade, and all of that.”

Qrow interlaces their fingers, moving slightly closer. “But now we’re here.”

Clover leans his head on Qrow’s side. “But now we’re here.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Find me @bluefaewren on Tumblr if you're interested.


End file.
